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Thursday, March 03, 2011

I have been trying for some time to figure out how to write this post on designing. It is a subject I am asked about again and again; "how do I know how many stitches to add on my next row?" "How do I get my shawl to be more pointed in the center?" "How do I keep my doily from rippling around the edges?" These are questions that are hard to answer, because there are so many possible answers. And the truth is, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to designing a crocheted item. That is why designers spend so much time ripping out and starting over.
But the good news is that the more you crochet, the more you will develop a feel for how crochet works. With each item you crochet, you will gain experience and knowledge that can be applied to future items. And there are a few tips I can share that might help.
Unless you are very ambitious, I would suggest you start out with simple items with little or no shaping for your first designs. I wrote a post a few years ago about designing a wash cloth:http://bellacrochet.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-be-crochet-designer-part-ii-okay.html
This might be a good project for first time designers.
If you are going to design an item which has shaping, take the time to learn how to make both increases and decreases in the stitch pattern you will be using before you begin. It will save a lot of frustration once you get started.
Round items are a bit more challenging because they must lay flat (usually.) This means you must add just the right amount of stitches to each round. Here is the pattern for a basic circle in dc that I often use:

I used the basic circle pattern to start this Watermelon Potholder design.

Basic CircleRnd 1: Ch 4, 11 dc in 4th ch from hook, join with sl st in top of ch-4. (First 3 chs count as first dc; 12 dc made)Rnd 2: (Ch 3, dc) in first st, 2 dc in each st around, join with sl st in top of ch-3. (24)Rnd 3: (Ch 3, dc) in first st, dc in next st, (2 dc in next st, dc in next st) around, join. (36)Rnd 4: (Ch 3, dc) in first st, dc in each of next 2 sts, (2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 2 sts) around, join. (48)Rnd 5: (Ch 3, dc) in first st, dc in each of next 3 sts, (2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 3 sts) around, join. (60)Rnd 6: (Ch 3, dc) in first st, dc in each of next 4 sts, (2 dc in next st, dc in each of next 4 sts) around, join. Fasten off. (72)
If you look at the pattern, you will see that the first round has 12 stitches, and each of the following rounds increases by 12 stitches. This circle will lay flat, and it can be made as large as you would like, just by continuing to work rounds which increase by 12 stitches each time.
When working in a pattern stitch, it is up to the designer to figure out how many repeats are needed to make a circle work the way they want it to. Pineapple designs have been my major challenge. It is sometimes hard to know when the next pineapple should begin, and it is often just a case of trial and error.
As far as coming up with ideas for designs, I pretty much get them everywhere. I have a collection of vintage children's books that I have been going through lately, looking for inspiration for some Lovely Ladies Doilies which will feature little girls. You might try combining some of your favorite stitches to create your first designs. For example, you could work a square out of shell stitches, then add a lacy border of love knots to create a lovely shawl. You can also make items based on your lifestyle or personal likes. It can be a great learning experience to design a shopping bag made out of plarn or recycled yarn, or dinosaur hat for a favorite little boy.
One thing I want to point out if you are designing clothing, is that you should always keep up with current trends. No matter how cute your shrug or poncho design might be, the pattern is probably not going to sell very well right now because both of those items have faded in popularity. It is a good idea to browse Ravelry and Etsy to keep up with developing trends. And remember, any time a celebrity is seen wearing a crocheted item, there is a pretty good chance that type of item is going to become popular (remember Martha Stewart's poncho?) Of course you can stick to the basics, like scarves and hats, but even those basics can change in style from year to year.

I hope this series of articles has helped a little, it has been something I have wanted to do for a while. I would like to encourage everyone to try designing. It can be a challenge, but it is worth the effort.

BellaCrochet Free Patterns

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I would love to hear from you!You can write to me at:bellacrochet.info (at) yahoo.comPlease note that I do not email copies of my patterns, and that I feature both my paid and free patterns here on the blog (not every design you see pictured on the blog is free!)

Also, I cannot mail out printed copies of my free patterns. I do not have any other versions of my free patterns available; no PDF's, no translations into other languages, no symbol diagrams, no additional photos and no videos are available. All my free patterns have been tested for accuracy and clarity, and I can offer no additional information or help on any of them. You can find all of my paid patterns in my Etsy shop:https://www.etsy.com/shop/BellaCrochet

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etsy

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About Me

I love crochet, and although crochet has been my career and means of support for most of my life, I would crochet every day even if I never made a dime off of it!

But, I have been a professional crochet designer for almost 30 years. I worked as a technical editor for Annie's Attic for two years, and was the in-house designer for Annie's Attic and the NeedleCraft Shop for several years. In 2008, I left DRG Publishing where I was the crochet pattern book coordinator. I am now self-publishing my original designs through my company, BellaCrochet. You can see all my designs in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/bellacrochetI love creating vintage- look thread designs- I am a doily and potholder girl! I am the proud mother of 3 daughters and 3 sons, and the grandmother of 16 sweet and wonderful grandchildren. I live on a farm in rural east Texas, with my darlin' man, David.